Etiquette



DP Etiquette

First rule: Don't be a jackass. Most people are good.

Other rules: Do not attack or insult people you disagree with. Engage with facts, logic and beliefs. Out of respect for others, please provide some sources for the facts and truths you rely on if you are asked for that. If emotion is getting out of hand, get it back in hand. To limit dehumanizing people, don't call people or whole groups of people disrespectful names, e.g., stupid, dumb or liar. Insulting people is counterproductive to rational discussion. Insult makes people angry and defensive. All points of view are welcome, right, center, left and elsewhere. Just disagree, but don't be belligerent or reject inconvenient facts, truths or defensible reasoning.

Sunday, November 9, 2025

MAGA wealth & power politics: Take from the non-rich and give to the rich

The NYT reports (not paywalled) that Trump is, quietly as possible, handing out tax cuts worth hundreds of billions of dollars to some of the most profitable companies and wealthiest investors. When he was in office, the Dems passed a tax law that Biden signed in 2022. That law provided for a minimum tax of 15% on profits that large, highly profitable corporations make. This gift to the rich and powerful comes on top of the trillions of dollars in tax cuts for the rich and powerful that were included in the Trump-GOP budget law that passed this last summer. MAGA!!

The idea behind the law was to ensure that some of the country’s most profitable corporations pay at least some federal income tax. The law was a corporate alternative minimum tax that plugged some existing tax loopholes. The law was projected to raise $222 billion over a decade from companies like Microsoft, Amazon and Johnson & Johnson. That is a paltry $22 billion/year from corporations that make hundreds of billions/year in profits. 

For context, the Fortune 500 companies made $1.87 trillion in profits in 2024 and $1.7 trillion in 2023. Companies don't even want to pay that puny sum. They're greedy and callous. Corporations are there to make profit, not to make the world a better place or to save our democracy from tyranny or our environment from collapse.*

* Or sea level from rising 15 feet

Meanwhile, the official federal debt approaches $40 trillion and existing unfunded obligations (debt) as measured today** approaches Dog only knows what. Maybe $80 trillion in 25 years? Social Security and Medicare alone face approximately $73 trillion in unfunded obligations over the next 75 years.

** Or stated as unfunded obligations as assessed in year 2050

This governance by MAGA is irresponsible, cynical and profoundly corrupt. But, that is what voters voted for. That is what they are getting. And they are getting it good and hard.  


Q: Is the Reverse Robin Hood Party a reasonable alt-name for the Republican Party?
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